Kenyans living in the diaspora may have the alternative of using a national identity card (ID) as a valid voting document other than the passport ahead of the 2027 General Election.

📋 Breaking It Down

The over 5 million Kenyans living in the diaspora may have the alternative of using a national identity card (ID) as a valid voting document other than the passport ahead of the 2027 General Election, if Parliament approves regulations recognising the document.

The National Assembly Committee on Constitutional Implementation Oversight (CIOC), in a report that was adopted by the House, made the proposal on account that the requirement for a passport “limits some diasporans since a passport has an expiry date.”

This, the committee says, is critical so as to expand electoral inclusivity and remove barriers to participation ahead of the 2027 general election and beyond.

📌 What You Need to Know

“Other than the voting card issued by the electoral commission upon registration, the national identity card should also be considered as a valid voting document for Kenyans in the diaspora,” the CIOC report on the status of implementation of the Constitution by the IEBC reads.

Currently, regulation 37 of the Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations of 2012 requires Kenyans living outside the country to be holders of valid passports to apply for voter registration.

However, the same regulation provides an exception for Kenyans residing within the East African Community (EAC), who are permitted to use their national identity cards (IDs) instead.

The CIOC report was tabled in the National Assembly on November 19, 2025, debated and adopted on February 24, 2026, paving the way for the IEBC to come up with regulations for approval by the House.

This specific regulation has been a major point of legal friction.

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, in a 2022 petition filed in court, challenged the constitutionality of the regulation, arguing that the passport mandate “unreasonably” limits the constitutional right to vote for millions of citizens overseas who may only hold national identity cards.

📰 Source: Nation Africa